Presidential Interpretation of the Constitution

Authors

David A. Strauss, University of Chicago Law School

Abstract

May the executive branch disagree with the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Constitution, and act in accordance with its own view? We tend to associate this question with a few great constitutional crises. Disputes between President Jackson and the Supreme Court over the Bank of the United States; between President Lincoln and the Court over slavery; and between President Franklin Roosevelt and the Court over New Deal legislation, all produced memorable statements by presidents claiming a broad power to act independently from the Court's decisions. The school desegregation controversy was between the Court and some state governments, not the President, but it too produced a memorable sweeping statement, this time by the Court, framed in terms that would deny presidential independence.

Keywords

Executive Branch, Legislation, Congress, Legislative Branch, Courts, Rule of Law, Law and Society, Separation of Powers, Checks and Balances

Disciplines

Courts | Law | Law and Society | Legislation

Recommended Citation

David A. Strauss, Presidential Interpretation of the Constitution, 15 Cardozo L. Rev. 113 (1993).
Available at: https://larc.cardozo.yu.edu/clr/vol15/iss1/15